Coulrophobia: An Analysis

Coulrophobia is the fear of clowns, which makes it a specific phobia (DSM-IV Code 300.29). The term is believed to have been a layman coinage from around the 1980s, eventually seeping into the medical lexicon.  Like most phobias, the name stems from Ancient Greek, possibly “stilt-walker” for “coulro-”; as the Greeks had no closer concept for clowns.

There are several factors behind this medical condition.  The first and most obvious is a traumatic childhood experience associated with clowns; as seen in the accounts below:

          i.            Lisa Weihlmuller, 45, of Arlington, began fearing clowns around 6 or 7 while at the circus: “A clown got right up in front of my face, and I could see his beard stubble underneath the clown makeup.  He smelled bad and his eyes were weird… He had this smile painted on his face, but he was not smiling.  He was yucky. Scary. Freaky. Weird.”

         ii.            “My hatred of clowns began when I was 5 years old.  I was at a circus, and a clown came up to me and said, “Would you like to see the monkey I have in my box?  Well, of course I did, so I said yes. When I looked into the box, there was no monkey…only a mirror.”

Others also suggest the huge influx of negative portrayals of clowns in the media through clown-based horror such as Stephen King’s IT, the Twisted Metal franchise, ‘evil clown’ movies and the infamous Joker in the Batman comics. There is also a tendency in news reporting to overemphasise their profession when featuring criminals and killers worked as clowns. It was also observed in an intriguing study (Durwin, 2004) that clowns were frequently tied with the supernatural for the previous case; the significance of which will be explained later on.

While it becomes tempting to blame the media for the present pervasiveness of coulrophobia, research has shown that the current hatred for clowns has already permeated society before this media trend ever arose. In fact, Durwin argues that the reverse may be true; that popular media actually mirrors upon the public fear of clowns. The situation is further complicated when one considers the mechanism by which phobias develop.  Since fear is a natural protective mechanism, phobia is basically a repetitive circuit of reactions based on a survival instinct blown to grotesque proportions. Therefore, clowns, which are not dangerous by nature, have become a threat merely through human perception.

So if the media is not responsible, how do we explain the large contingent of coulrophobes who do not possess the obligatory traumatic memories, yet have somehow made an unconscious, hysterical connection between these jolly entertainers and the sinister?

Psychologically, it may be the natural guardian instincts of a community for its young at work. Parents may have registered at some subconscious level that clowns are adults who wear masks and have access to children; a set of connotations that would’ve been frightening in any other context –and may still have set them on edge regardless. Children, on the other hand, may reject clowns due to their higher sensitivity to a familiarly human body coupled with a rather inhuman face.  This phenomenon is explained by the “uncanny valley” hypothesis, in which repulsion is said to occur when one is faced with a humanoid subject past a certain limit in human likeness.  Clowns may also instigate fear for their historic and unconsciously perceived role of breaking social norms and boundaries without repercussions, a power no average person would want another fellow human to own in real life.  The phobia may also be aggravated by the strong, persistent link between clowns and the supernatural, which can be traced to the extensive, culturally universal practice of ritual clowning i.e. clown-based shamanism. Added to guises that clowns traditionally assume, and it becomes very clear that they have simply become a target for the intrinsic human fear of the unknown; especially in today’s anti-mysticism, rationale-propped society.

So how does one go about addressing such a phobia? As with most specific phobias, pharmacological treatment has not been as effective as behaviour therapy. Thus, systemic desensitisation, such as graded exposure and flooding, is suggested. Nevertheless, a short course of benzodiazepines or beta blockers can be administered during the process to help control the autonomic symptoms.

Reference: 
1. Durwin, Joseph (2004). "Coulrophobia and the Trickster," Trickster's Way: Vol. 3: Iss. 1, Article 4. Obtained from: http://www.trinity.edu/org/tricksters/trixway/current/vol%203/vol3_1/Durwin.htm.

2. Stead, L.G., Kaufman, M.S. & Yanofski, J. First Aid For The® Psychiatry Clerkship (2011), pg 52. 3^rd ed.  Singapore: McGraw-Hill Medical. 

List of Phobias as found on the internet :P

Interested in knowing more about the available phobias?? Wanna know if you have any of them??
visit this website

http://phobialist.com/

Kleptophobia

Kleptophobia


Kleptophobia, or fear of theft, can actually be used to describe two distinct fears. The first is a fear of being stolen from or robbed. The second is a fear of stealing from someone else. The two fears are often related and may exist simultaneously.

Causes of Kleptophobia

Both forms of kleptophobia are often, but not always, triggered by a negative event. For example, if you have been robbed at gunpoint, you are at higher risk of developing a fear of being robbed. Likewise, if you have ever been a thief, you may worry that you will fall back into old patterns.

Either form of kleptophobia may also be rooted in internal struggles or conflicts. Society does not cleanly divide into abstracts of “good” and “evil,” and defining our own morals can be challenging. For example, most of us were taught as children not to steal, but how many of us actually return extra change that we were given by mistake? It is common to justify small “cheats,” but simultaneously worry that this behavior may constitute stealing, or might even lead to larger and more definitive thefts.

Likewise, most of us accept that business dealings are not always “fair,” and that we might at times be ripped off. We tend to let small things go in an effort to be cooperative or avoid confrontation. Over time, however, even small amounts of overcharging can cause us to feel victimized, eventually worrying that next time we will be more seriously taken advantage of.

Symptoms of Kleptophobia

The symptoms of kleptophobia vary depending on the type that you suffer. If you are afraid of being robbed, you are likely to develop a defensive posture. You might lock up valuables before anyone visits, maintain a guarded attitude with strangers and avoid walking anywhere alone, particularly at night. You may obsessively check contracts, avoid loaning money even to close friends or be afraid of large crowds.

If you are afraid of stealing from others, you might become scrupulously honest and giving. You might double check received change, refuse to accept loans and even consciously avoid eating the last serving of any food. You are likely to go out of your way to avoid situations that might tempt you to steal, such as money handling jobs or social gatherings. Some people with this type of kleptophobia find that their fears extend to cheating, and are extremely careful to follow every rule when playing games.

Over time, both forms of kleptophobia can lead to isolation, low self esteem, depression and other types of anxiety disorders. You might develop social phobia or even agoraphobia due to the fear of exposing yourself to what you perceive as high risk situations. It is common to develop feelings of worthlessness and shame.

Treating Kleptophobia

Like most phobias, kleptophobia can be successfully treated using a range of techniques. One of the most common is cognitive-behavioral therapy. This type of treatment helps you learn to stop your negative self talk and think more logically about theft. You will also learn new behaviors and coping strategies that you can use in stressful situations.

Kleptophobia can also be treated using medications, hypnosis and different types of talk therapy. These treatments may also help other disorders that may be related, such as obsessive-compulsive disorder and general anxiety disorder.

It is important to choose a therapist that you trust to help you work through your phobia. For tips and suggestions, see “Finding a Therapist.”

Nyctophobia: Fear of the Darkness

Nyctophobia is a term used to mean a severe fear of the darkness. The word ‘nycto’ is derived from the Greek word νυξ, which means “night”, making the word literally mean fear of the night. Other terms that can also be used to indicate this phobia are achluophobia, scotophobia, and lygophobia. All these terms can be used to describe the fear of the dark at a degree that is severe enough that could be considered extreme. The fear of darkness has varies degrees, to could range from minimum to extreme fear, and although it’s mostly common among children, there are also adults that have this fear. The people who have this type of phobia, fear of the dark, are often not scared of the darkness itself; instead the fear is more towards the dangers that might be hidden in the darkness, which is usually imagined by their consciousness. In some cases, the degree of fear in people is natural, but it could easily become extreme. In recent studies, researchers have found that more the 90% of children with some type of fear, and the most common fear that they face, usually from the age of 2 years old, is the fear of the dark.

Some researchers believe that the fear of the dark could be considered as a display of separation anxiety disorder. People with nyctophobia are likely to become very nervous when they are confronted with being in dark environments. They tend to have to always sleep with the nightlight, and sometimes be unwilling to go out at night due to this phobia. When they have to endure being in places where it’s dark, they tend to experience increased heart rate, shake, sweat and even feel sick. For the people who experience severe nyctophobia, they might even try to run away or avoid being in dark places. They could even get enraged or annoyed at people who  tries to convince them to go to places with darken environments.

One of the most common phobia treatment techniques that is used to “cure” or overcome nyctophobia is a treatment known as flooding. In this treatment, the patients are being forced to go through or confront the situations that they try to avoid. However, in this treatment, the patients have a choice of participating or not depending on whether they feel they can or not get through it. This treatment is always controlled and monitored by a specialist, so the patient is not put in any danger.

-Nurul I. R.-

Tan Mei Kuan: Arachnophobia: fear of spiders

Hello everyone. I am Tan Mei Kuan and my blog post this time is about arachnophobia. I have organized my research in three parts:

1. Definition and statistics
The Oxford Dictionaries defined "arachnophobia" as an "extreme or irrational fear of spiders". The term "arachnophobia" is a combination of the Greek word "arakhne" (spider) and "phobia". According to www.earthlife.net, almost half of the women and 10% of the men in the UK think they have arachnophobia. On the other hand, www.mentalhealthy.co.uk reports that about half of the women and 18% of the men in the Western society experience a fear of spiders to some extent. This website also points out that although the aggressive Australian funnel web spider must be avoided, there are only two recorded bites (not deaths) per year.

2. Examples from research and personal experience.
Arachnophobics will always check their surroundings for real spiders and any representations of spiders in the form of drawings, pictures, soft toys and others might scare them too. According to www.disabled-world.com, arachnophobics will experience "excessive sweating, rapid breathing, a quickened heartbeat, nausea and dizziness".
The reasons for arachnophobia to occur can be found from the historical point of view. Some evolutionary psychologists think that arachnophobia is a survival skill and a misplaced fear passed down from our ancestors.
As for personal experience, I do not have arachnophobia. If I were to find a spider in my bedroom, I would probably alert my parents and monitor every movement of the spider. When it displays any sign of movement towards me, I would probably run away screaming.

3. Treatment options
According to www.disabled-world.com, there is a treatment named "systematic desensitisation" where arachnophobics learn to face their fears and thus conquer their phobia. For example, sufferers will be initially exposed to the mild photos of spiders and then gradually to the live spiders. There is also a virtual reality treatment where arachnophobics will learn to face a computer-generated spider by wearing a VR helmet. I think that it is also important for arachnophobics to educate themselves on spiders to dispel any unfounded fears and misunderstandings.

Thank you.

Phobia , Acrophobia

         Acrophobia is an extreme or irrational fear of heights. There are many people who really scare from height.Most people may generally feel a bit apprehensive when looking down from a very steep cliff and it is natural. Acrophobia can cause a person to fear a variety of things related to being far from the ground.

There are many examples of acrophobia. They may scare of flying so they always prefer to use other transportations. There are some people who scare to climb the ladder. They feel stressed when they go to their roof and they try to not looking down. 

There are different degrees of acrophobia.Most people experience a degree of natural fear when exposed to heights, specially when they are not protected.

Sometimes, they just feel stressed and it is not very serious. It can be dangerous in some situations.People who suffer from acrophobia have feelings such as increased heart rate, palpitations, rapid breathing and shortness of breath, as well as dry mouth and nausea.

It is interesting that most of the people who have phobias are informed that their phobias are not logical. The negative suggestion may also increase their phobia. Usually, those suffering from true acrophobia have undergone a frightening experience or experiences in their past that have produced a learned or 'conditioned response' to the stimulus of height. They may have a bad experience from childhood which they can not never forget it. Such experiences may often be beyond the conscious recall of the individual.

Acrophobia is most commonly treated with a range of therapies such as cognitive behavior therapy which includes desensitization and flooding. These therapies exposes the person to staged situations involving high places and slowly helps him or her to develop coping skills, increases confidence and change thought patterns to manage fear and anxiety. It is important for people to solve this problem because it may cause a bad happening. 

We can conclude that phobia is getting serious when it hurts someone so it is important for people to understand the reality of phobia and they should know how to solve it. 

Zahra :)

internet addiction

Internet addiction means spending time on internet.If you spend your time for yourself,you can solve this problem.for example: nowadays facebook is the most popular social network.so people communicate via facebook.My suggestion is that you can communicate to your friend by face to face.In stead of chatting or surfing internet you can go to the gym or take a walk with your friends.The other methods can be used for recovery from internet addictions is the travelling which is very interesting and exciting for many people.